A mix of the unusual and memorable, both familiar and fresh: That's how Queen guitarist Brian Maydescribes the band's forthcoming studio release, a compilation of older and refashioned material that may or may not be a full album.

As for the older material to be included on the album, May tells Rolling Stone that it will consist of "things that weren't singles that have become or stayed popular through the years."

The newer songs, he adds, will feature recently recorded backing tracks by May and drummer Roger Taylor and previously unused vocals by late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, as well as Michael Jackson, with whom Mercury recorded in the 1980s.

"At least one dancey, at least one ballady one," May says about the tracks with Jackson.  "There's sort of three main contenders at the moment, possibly four."

As for the upcoming Mercury biopic, May says the script "depicts Freddie in a very lifelike way, but in the context of Queen, which was a kind of family. So it's about what happens in families, in a sense, and I think people will find it very touching."